Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Washington non-native rabbits
The Eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) was introduced to
several areas in Washington as a game animal beginning in the 1930s. It
averages 17 inches in length and is light brown in color; the white
underside of its 2-inch tail is readily visible when the rabbit runs. It
is commonly seen along roads, brushy fencerows, and blackberry thickets
in and around areas where it has been introduced. The domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
is another introduced species. Also known as the European rabbit or
Belgian hare, this single species is the ancestor of all domestic
rabbits (about 80 varieties!). The domestic rabbit is considerably
larger than other Washington rabbits, measuring 20 to 30 inches in
length. It has black, white, brown, or multicolored fur, and is most
frequently seen in the San Juan Islands where it was first introduced in
1900, although it is spreading into other areas where it has been
released. (WDFW)

'It is a life-or-death situation,' says SFU professor who co-authored UN report on global warming
One of the Canadian co-authors of Sunday's gloomy report on climate
change says the world is at a "critical juncture" if it is to avoid a
potentially devastating rise in temperatures — and that fossil-fuel
megaprojects planned for B.C. are a step in the wrong direction. Kirsten
Zickfeld, an associate professor in geography at Simon Fraser
University, was one of two Canadians selected to author the report,
along with dozens of experts around the world. Preventing an extra
single degree of heat could make a life-or-death difference in the next
few decades for multitudes of people and ecosystems on this fast-warming
planet, the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change announced Sunday. In the 728-page document, the UN organization
detailed how Earth's weather, health and ecosystems would be in better
shape if the world's leaders could somehow limit future human-caused
warming to just 0.5 C from now, instead of the globally agreed-upon goal
of 1 C. (CBC)

LNG plant would cut greenhouse gases — if the fuel comes from Canada, report says
A long-awaited draft environmental report on the liquefied natural gas
project on the Tacoma Tideflats was released Monday, and it came with a
caveat. Its findings — that overall greenhouse gas emissions in the area
would be reduced as a result of the project — are directly tied to the
plant getting fuel solely from British Columbia. That detail is so
important that the review recommended the source of fuel be a “required
condition” for the plant’s future and in obtaining the air permit needed
to construct the plant’s emissions and production components. The Puget
Sound Clean Air Agency in January ordered the supplemental
environmental review to study the life cycle of greenhouse gas emissions
caused by the plant. The review was needed before Puget Sound Energy
could get the air permit for the project. The plant, under construction
at East 11th Street and Alexander Avenue East, would hold up to 8
million gallons of LNG for natural gas customers and for maritime
transport, including TOTE Maritime Alaska vessels. Debbie Cockrell
reports. (News Tribune of Tacoma)

The Marathassa oil-spill case is collapsing, putting environmental protection in the spotlight
The Crown’s case against the MV Marathassa, the bulk carrier that
spilled oil in English Bay three years ago, continues to fall apart. In
the latest setback, Provincial Court Justice Kathryn Denhoff found that
accidentally dumping bunker oil in the sea is not a crime under
Canada’s environmental protection law. As the federal government looks
for ways to push its Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion through to
the West Coast, it is assuring British Columbians it is building a
“world class” regime to respond to oil spills. In the spring of 2017,
Greece-based Alassia NewShips Management Inc., the owner of the MV Marathassa,
was charged with 10 pollution-related offences. One by one, the
defendant has batted the charges off. Only four are still before the
court. Justine Hunter reports. (Globe and Mail)

EPA head touts Duwamish cleanup project
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency came to Seattle for the
first time since the Obama administration on Wednesday. With a
piledriver making an intermittent, deafening rumble behind him, EPA
acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler spoke to reporters at a sewage
treatment plant being built in the Georgetown neighborhood.... The EPA
is helping finance the project with a $134.5 million loan. When the
plant opens in 2022, it will reduce combined sewer overflows entering
the Duwamish River by 95 percent, according to the EPA.... Wheeler took
over the agency after Administrator Scott Pruitt resigned amid ethics
scandals and federal investigations in July. During his two-day visit to
Washington state, Wheeler met with Boeing officials, tribal officials
and the American Conservation Coalition, a conservative group led by a
University of Washington undergraduate. He also met with the Washington
Farm Bureau, which supports the administration's efforts to reduce
protections for wetlands and small water bodies. John Ryan reports.
(KUOW)

FDA Bans Use of 7 Synthetic Food Additives After Environmental Groups Sue
Ever heard of these food additives? Synthetically-derived benzophenone,
ethyl acrylate, methyl eugenol, myrcene, pulegone, or pyridine? These
compounds can help mimic natural flavors and are used to infuse foods
with mint, cinnamon and other flavors. You've likely never seen them on
food labels because food manufacturers are permitted to label them
simply as "artificial flavors." Now, the Food and Drug Administration
has announced these compounds will no longer be allowed to be used as
food additives. The FDA is giving manufacturers time to remove them from
the food supply. Allison Aubrey reports. (NPR)

B.C. Ferries going on building spree; at least 5 large vessels
B.C. Ferries plans to build at least five new large ferries to serve
Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, at a cost that could reach $1
billion — and it’s leaving open the possibility of building two or three
more. The five would replace four C-class ferries built between 1964
and 1981 and add another to deal with predicted growing demand. A
request for expressions of interest has been issued and is open to
Canadian and international firms. The five new ships would be built with
the ability to make adjustments if travelling patterns change — for
example, a car deck could be converted for passenger use if demand for
on-board vehicle space drops. The vessels will also be quieter to reduce
underwater noise for killer whales, and have lower emissions. Carla
Wilson reports. (Times Colonist)

Atlantic salmon use magnetic fields to navigate, even when landlocked
Even when landlocked for several generations, Atlantic salmon can sense
magnetic fields and use them to navigate, according to new research.
Previous studies have documented Pacific salmon's ability to sense
magnetic fields. To test whether Atlantic salmon also use Earth's
magnetic field to navigate, scientists designed a series of fish pins,
each with differently oriented magnetic fields. Researchers replicated
the Earth's magnetic field using copper-coated wooden coils. The
experimental fish pins were installed in Oregon's Hosmer Lake, where
Atlantic salmon, originally transplanted from Maine, have been living
living for 60 years. Scientists observed the behavior of 1,150 juvenile
Atlantic salmon inside the pins. Brooks Hays reports. (UPI)

How Do You Find an Alien Ocean? Margaret Kivelson Figured It Out
The data was like nothing Margaret Kivelson and her team of physicists
ever expected. It was December 1996, and the spacecraft Galileo had just
flown by Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter. The readings beamed back to
Earth suggested a magnetic field emanating from the moon. Europa should
not have had a magnetic field, yet there it was — and not even pointed
in the right direction. “This is unexpected,” she recalled saying as the
weird data rolled in. “And that’s wonderful.” It would be the most
significant of a series of surprises from the Jovian moons. For Dr.
Kivelson’s team, the mission should not have been this exciting. She and
her colleagues had devised the magnetometer returning the anomalous
data. The instrument’s job was to measure Jupiter’s massive magnetic
field and any variations caused by its moons. Those findings were likely
to interest space physicists, but few others. Dr. Kivelson’s instrument
was never supposed to change the course of space exploration. And then
it did. Dr. Kivelson and her team would soon prove that they had
discovered the first subsurface, saltwater ocean on an alien world.
David W. Brown reports. (NY Times)

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